Snape's Secret
by ButterflyDestiny
Summary: I remade the story cause I wasn't happy with the original. Harry's being abused, Ron feels forgotten, and Hermione wants to find love beyond looking in a book. HarryxSeverus, RonxMage, HermionexAri. If you don't like the new version let me know.
1. Train Ride

The wind blew furiously making rain fly everywhere Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched it from the window of the Hogwarts Express. Harry sighed deeply and looked at his two friends and went back to fiddling with his shirt. The three sat with Ginny and Neville, Luna had excused herself to the lavatory. The other two were too busy with their own activities to pay attention to anything important. Harry felt angry at everyone and everything at the moment. He wished people would just tell him what's going on instead of leaving him in the dark.

"Harry, you can't just ignore us forever. We want to help." Hermione said trying to reason with him.

"Why can't the Order at least tell me they're following me instead of me getting the constant feeling that I'm being stalked?" Harry asked bitterly.

Ron and Hermione gazed at him sadly. They couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Being demoralized by the _Prophet_, nearly expelled, being attacked by Dementors, finding out he was being followed without knowledge; it was a lot to expect from a 15 year old orphan living with a Muggle family that hated him. Just as Hermione reached out to pat Harry's hand for comfort the compartment door slammed open. There in the doorway stood a girl with long black trailing hair. She had shimmering silver-blue eyes. She wore a dark greenish skirt and a black tank top. The girl glanced around at all of them before diving under Harry's seat to grab something. She slowly pulled herself up to reveal that her target was a small mewing brown kitten.

"Sorry bout that. My cat's pregnant and it seems that her newborns were feeling adventurous and a few of them wandered off." she explained brushing aside a stray strand of hair from her face.

"Ari, 2 more went missing." A boy came up behind the girl.

The boy had short brown hair and green eyes. He wore a tight red t-shirt and a pair of black jeans with rips in the knees. The girl called Ari turned and scowled at him. The boy's gaze swept around the compartment. They landed on Ron and Harry. Both boys stared at him in confusion. The boy's gaze seemed to linger on Ron longer than Harry. Crookshanks who was curled in Hermione's lap jumped up and dashed out of the compartment with Hermione on his heels.

"Mage, you idiot you should have closed the damn door!" With that Ari shoved him away making him slip a Luna's _Quibbler_ and fall onto Ron.

Ron was surprised when the other boy landed on him. Mage stood up from Ron's lap and apologized for his friend's attitude. Harry stood from his seat. His eyes hadn't left Ari since she'd arrived. Ari's eyes flickered from glaring at Mage to offering a small smile to Harry.

"Maybe we could help you find them." He offered.

She stared at him for a brief second before nodded slightly and leaving the compartment. Harry quickly followed. Ginny and Neville stared at each other confused. Mage sighed and seated himself across from Ron not really feeling up to continuing to hunt for more kittens at that particular moment.

*Hermione and Crookshanks*

Hermione quickly caught her ginger cat when he'd stopped outside another compartment. Inside the sound of faint mews could be heard. She slowly opened the door and peeked inside. She fawned at the sight of the 12 kittens snuggled in a basket beside a still birthing mother cat.

"They're so cute!" she said adoringly.

"Glad you think so." Hermione jumped and spun around to face Ari who held three small kittens in her hands.

One was white, one was brown with white pawns, and the other was a mixed colors. Hermione blushed and stepped aside so Ari could pass. Ari did so with ease and knelt beside the mother cat. Her scowl from earlier had long since disappeared and in its place was a warm smile. Hermione turned to leave when Crookshanks leapt from her arms to pad over to the litter of kittens. He sniffed them vaguely before nestling himself beside the mother. As Hermione reached to grab him Ari gently grasped her wrist and shook her head. She gave the brunette a brilliant smile and gestured to the benches they were settled between. Hermione sat on the bench closest to the mother cat.

"He's seems quite taken with Pureheart." Ari noted.

Hermione looked up at her before looking down at Crookshanks who indeed looked to be interested in the white cat. She briefly glanced up at the other girl who seemed to be counting the kittens. The dark haired girl scowled and quickly excused herself.

Harry walked along the train trying to find more kittens. He currently had a black one with brown spots on its ears and a white one with a black and brown striped tail. As he walked along he bumped into Ari who looked as if she were seeking a person rather than a kitten. She walked past him with a smile and slammed her fist on a compartment door. The door slid open to reveal a very pudgy Pansy Parkinson.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Move aside and get lost I'm here to speak with Draco." Ari said glaring.

"He has no desire to speak with a Ravenclaw." Pansy said hotly.

"Get the hell out of my way I'm speaking to him whether you like it or not." Ari said grabbing Pansy's arm.

Pansy attempted to fight Ari off but Malfoy's voice made her seize.

"Pansy let her in." he said sounding bored.

"B-but…" Pansy protested.

"I said let her in." Malfoy said sounding angry.

Pansy nodded and allowed Ari to enter before closing the door behind her. Draco sat by the window wearing black dress pants and a mint green button up shirt. His platinum blonde hair was not gelled like it was when he was younger. It was down past his ears and pulled back in a small ponytail at the base of his neck.

"They need to be gone before I talk." Ari demanded.

Draco gave a nod of indifference and ordered the others away. Of course Pansy protested but Ari shoved her out the door and locked it. She murmured a muffling charm and stared at Draco again. He looked like a cross between annoyed, angry and upset.

"Dray, I know we're not close but are you really gonna get the mark?" she asked sitting down across from him.

Draco looked at her with a glare in his eyes but not on his face.

"I don't see that as any of your business," he spat.

"Dray, I know how Uncle Lucius is and how he's forcing you to do this but are you really gonna get it?" Ari asked desperately.

Draco was now glaring at her. He jumped from his seat and stared down at her with hate in his eyes.

"Why do you care? You never once in the past ever gave a damn and now all of a sudden you've seen the light? Nothing you can say or do will change my mind!" he spat.

Ari felt scared under the gaze but she had one thing to say that she knew would prove her point.

"Then say it. Say you're gonna get the mark," she said calmly.

Draco's face turned red in anger but his face was slightly faltered.

"I'm gonna…I'm gonna…" he trailed off.

Ari saw a hint of tears in his eyes. Draco fell onto his seat and attempted to say it but Ari knew he couldn't. She reached out a hand and gently grasped his. She closed her eyes and felt Draco's trembles through their linked hands. He wasn't crying, he couldn't cry. His father had drilled it into him how Malfoy's never cry. He just shook with pain and sorrow. Ari looked up at her cousin he seemed to have curled in on himself. She gently brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen in his face. The raven haired girl pulled him into her arms holding him close rubbing his back gently to sooth him. Ari hoped this year would be different for him. She wanted to make sure of that.

After holding him for awhile she released him as soon as his trebles ceased. "Please leave." Draco requested.

Ari nodded and stood up and turned to the door. She gave Draco one last look of sympathy before opening the door and exiting. She ordered Pansy and the two oafs to stay out before leaving. She was almost back to her compartment when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning she saw Blaise with a look on his face.

"So have I won the bet yet?" she asked before Blaise could speak.

"What makes you think I haven't told him already?" Blaise asked.

"Cause you're you." Ari said snootily.

"I'm gonna tell him this year." Blaise said hotly.

"Well you better hurry. The deadline's almost up." Ari sang before stepping into her compartment.

Back in Ron, Ginny and Neville's compartment Mage sat staring out the window at the rain splattering the window. Luna had returned from the lavatory displeased to see her _Quibbler_ stepped on and messed up. Ginny smiled sympathetically at her friend and patted her shoulder. Mage looked back over at Ron again taking in his features.

"Hey aren't you Ron Weasley?" Mage asked in realization.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ron asked surprised.

"Everyone knows the Weasley twins and I remember last year someone was talking about you being related to them." Mage said sitting across from Ron.

"Oh." Ron said looking down.

The red head looked away. It figured people only knew him because of Fred and George. Mage saw the look of sadness on the red head's face and realized he had said something wrong. Luna stared at Ron in concern while Neville stayed quiet. Ginny buried her nose in the romance novel she'd purchased in Diagon Alley just in case her brother began spouting off his anger. Strangely enough he stayed silent while Mage tried to coax him into speaking.

Harry entered Ari's compartment bearing three kittens. Ari immediately jumped up and grabbed them from his hands. She set them down with their siblings and smiled at Harry.

"Thanks for your help," she said smiling. "So what are your guys' names?"

"Harry Potter." Harry said expecting her to glance at his scar but she simply smiled.

"Nice to meet you," Ari said holding out her hand. After Harry shook it she turned her gaze to Hermione. "What about yours, my dear brunette stranger?" she asked Hermione playfully yet flirtingly.

Hermione blushed before stuttering a response. "H-Hermione Granger." She managed.

"Aw that's a cute name. It suits you." Ari said cheerfully.

Before Hermione could respond the compartment opened to and in walked a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a long sleeved blue shirt and a pair of black crop pants.

"Ari, we're almost there," she said ignoring the other two.

"Kay, well I see you guys later." Ari said waving the other two off.

Harry nodded and headed out. As Hermione closed the door she heard a brief part of their conversation.

"You're disgusting sometimes Ari." The blonde girl spat.

"Screw you Raven." Ari growled as she finished cleaning the last of her cat's babies.

Suddenly Ari shot up from her seat and slammed open her compartment door to stare at Hermione. The younger girl was scared at being caught but saw Crookshanks in Ari's arms.

"Oh, I guess you noticed. You forgot your cat. He seems rather attached to Pureheart." Ari said handing the cat back to its owner.

Hermione nodded and accepted her struggling cat. She nodded and walked off to her own compartment. When she entered the compartment she saw Ron staring out the window and Mage was exiting the compartment. Harry was changing into his robes and smiled at her. She smiled back and began changing into her robes.


	2. At Dinner

As the train pulled into the Hogwarts station the movement jerked Ron out of his seat and onto the floor. Hermione and Harry immediately helped him up. Ron shoved them off and stormed out of the compartment. Harry watched his friend depart in wonder but shrugged and followed him with Hermione on his heels. They spotted Ari and her friends outside on the platform. Ari smiled and waved at Harry who in turn waved back. As the group approached Raven looked them all over suspiciously. Her eyes landed on Harry giving him a dark look before turning and walking towards the carriages. Ari rolled her eyes at the blonde's departure but followed after with Mage not far behind. As people climbed into carriages Harry stared at the skeleton horses pulling them. Luna seemed to notice his staring and explained what they were. A little uneasily Harry climbed into the carriage with the others close behind. As the door closed he saw Ari and her friends being pulled away ahead of them.

The carriages pulled up at the castle. Ari climbed out and breathed in the fresh air taking in the sight of the brightly lit castle she hadn't seen since her first year. Raven climbed out and glared ahead of her at the castle. Her arm burned but she kept her face stoic as Ari turned to give her a smile. Mage just rolled his eyes and tried to hold steady to the basket full of newborn kittens. Pureheart jumped out of the basket and into her mistress's arms. Harry's carriage pulled up as another disappeared. He climbed out and felt eyes on him. Ignoring them he walked over towards Ari who just smiled brightly at him before hopping up the steps and into the castle with Mage and Raven close behind. A sour look passed Harry's face when he saw Professor Snape standing at the front entrance. The man eyed him intently before turning away to focus on the rest of the students. Harry walked past the Potions Professor without looking at him. Once inside the castle they were warmed of the cool night air. They were greeted by ghosts and paintings going about their business. Harry smiled and waved when he saw Nick.

"Hello Harry, how are you doing this evening?" asked the ghost politely.

"I'm fine Nick thank you," Harry nodded.

He waved farewell before continuing his way to the Great Hall. On the way someone stuck out their leg and tripped him. Luckily he only stumbled slightly but turned to glare at Draco Malfoy who stood smirking proudly with his cronies.

"Welcome back to school Potter, I had no idea that they let convicts in Hogwarts." Malfoy spat with a smirk.

Harry glared at him and stepped forward but was pulled back by a soft yet strong hand. Turning he was surprised to see Ari standing there giving Malfoy an annoyed look. Her face was painted with a clear look of annoyance.

"Back off," she said simply.

Malfoy glared at her before storming off without response. People stared at her surprised that one statement from her made Draco Malfoy leave wordlessly. She glared at the people making them quickly bustle away to the Great Hall. Harry was shocked.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

Ari turned and smiled at him with a wink. "It's a secret."

More students began to file into the corridor crowding it. Ari turned and disappeared into the crowd. Harry turned to see Hermione and Ron staring at where she stood strangely. They followed the rest of the people towards the Great Hall. Mage was standing by the doors waiting with a very displeased Raven and a bouncy Ari. When they moved to enter the Great Hall Raven was grabbed by a tall boy with long brown hair. She turned to glare at him but he dragged her away. Ari stared confused at her but ignored it and entered the Great Hall smirking when she spotted the person she'd been looking forward to seeing all night. He scoffed and looked away in annoyance. Harry waved as he, Hermione and Ron walked towards the Gryffindor table while Ari and Mage went to the Ravenclaw table. The sorting began as soon as everyone was seated.

Once it was over Harry eagerly began to eat the food on his plate. Hermione elbowed him to slow down or he would make himself sick. He just rolled his eyes at her but slowed his eating. Ron was arguing with Dean over Quidditch teams. Harry tensed as he once again felt eyes on him. He had just finished his second serving of roast when Dumbledore stood up and caught everyone's attention. He waved his hand at the Ravenclaw table making people turn to see Ari standing up and walking uncertainly towards the podium. He smiled kindly at her his eyes twinkling as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I would like to welcome back Miss. Ari Ashmead. She has been interning at the Ministry of Magic since her first year here. She has been kind enough to return and finish her education here at the school." Dumbledore announced. Ari lowered her head as her cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment.

When he asked if she wished to speak she shook her head and walked back to her seat shifting uncomfortable as people continued to stare at her. Mage patted her shoulder as she put her head on the table trying to will her cheeks to return to their normal color. Dumbledore continued to speak of the upcoming year while everyone dug into their desert. Everyone went silent as a pudgy woman cleared her throat loudly interrupting the headmaster's speech. They stared as she stepped towards the podium while everyone continued to stare at her shocked by what she'd done. She was introduced as Dolores Umbridge, she would be the new DADA professor and she worked in the Ministry. Harry glared at her when he recognized her as the woman from his trial. As she droned on about her plan people began to get bored listening and fought to stay awake. Raven entered the Great Hall halfway through the annoying speech. When Umbridge finished Ari pushed her food away from her.

"I am so not hungry anymore." Ari said making a face at her food.

Mage snickered but agreed pushing away his own food. Hermione thought over what Umbridge had said and couldn't believe the audacity of the woman! Ron complained about how long the speech was which earned him and elbow in the side from Hermione. The feast finally ended and people rushed out of the seats wanting desperately to get out of the Great Hall and away from Umbridge.

Once outside the Great Hall Harry breathed a tried sigh of relief. Hermione and Ron stood beside him waiting for the large crowd of students to disperse so they could walk easily up to the Gryffindor tower. His attention was turned when he heard arguing. He spotted Ari was arguing with Raven. She looked really annoyed and pissed. Mage was beside them ignoring everything. Harry's gaze lifted away from them and saw some of the teachers already out in the corridor talking discreetly amongst themselves. McGonagall looked clearly perplexed and surprised; Harry guessed it was about Umbridge by the looks of how she was heatedly conversing with Flintwick and Sprout. Snape exited the Great Hall and glared when his eyes landed on Harry staring. He turned his gaze away as soon as they locked eyes. Snape scanned the students and spotted who he was looking for. Walking over he grabbed Ari's arm and dragged her away from her friends and towards his quarters. Harry watched confused but followed when Hermione shoved him forward to go to the tower.

Once they got to the Common Room they breathed sighs of relief. Hermione mentioned something about unpacking tomorrow and showering tonight going to bed. Ron yawned as he and Harry trudged upstairs to the boys' dorms. Harry was angry after his fight with Seamus so he quickly dressed into his night clothes and climbed into bed falling into a nightmare filled sleep.


	3. The Next Morning

When morning came light streamed into the dorm room and washed over Harry's face making him scrunch his face as he stirred. He yanked the covers up to block the sun out. The sun washed over Ron's face as well successfully waking him. With a yawn he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Climbing out of bed he walked into the bathroom to splash water on his face. He blinked when he saw his reflection in the mirror; he looked slightly pale. Suddenly Mage's face seemed to reflect in the mirror reminding him of yesterday in the compartment. Tears gathered in his eyes at the statement Mage had made.

"You okay Ron?" the red head jumped when Seamus walked into the washroom.

Ron left the washroom to wake Harry. He grasped his friend's shoulder gently and shook him slightly. Harry groaned in protest but Ron kept shaking until he opened his eyes and glared at him in annoyance. Reluctantly he climbed out of bed as Ron went to the common room. He spotted Hermione sitting in an easy chair checking over her summer homework one last time. Ron just rolled his eyes at her braininess and greeted her with a good morning before making his way to the portrait hole. Wandering towards the stairs Ron's thoughts wandered back to Mage. Sure he apologized but the comment he had made was still very hurtful. Hastily Ron wiped away some tears that gathered in his eyes at the memory.

After stepping off the last step Ron made his way to the Great Hall. He stopped briefly to look out the window beautiful sunny sky. Owls were flying about the courtyard and up to the Owlery. The soft click of heels caught Ron's attention. He turned from the window and saw Mage walking towards him. He looked around trying to find someplace to sneak off to without the other boy catching him but it was already too late because Mage was now standing in front of him.

"Hey Ron. How are you this morning?" Mage asked.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Ron asked looking up at Mage.

"Tired, was up most of the night with Ari trying to help Pureheart with the last of her kittens, that cat is like a baby making machine; 24 kittens. What a nightmare. Thank Merlin I'm not girl." Mage said yawning. He looked at Ron seriously before speaking again. "Ron I am really sorry about what I said last night. It was careless and I didn't realize what effect it would have on you."

Ron was shocked but smiled at Mage. "Thank you; it's not your fault. You didn't know."

He stared at his feet with bright red cheeks. The corridors were quiet except for the sound of birds chirping outside the windows and the sound of owls' wings flying by. Nervously Ron peeked up at Mage through his bangs. As he gazed at the other boy's face Mage's attention was captured down the corridor where Ari was approaching. She smiled when she stopped beside them. Ron quickly bid them goodbye and made his way away from them towards the Great Hall. Once the Gryffindor was out of sight Mage turned to his best friend.

"So you never did tell me how it went last night,"

Ari sighed with a shrug. "Nothing really new, just reminding me to stay out of trouble and not tell anyone about….you know." Her words trailed as she saw Draco storming past them indifferently.

The brunette boy followed her gaze; staring at the blonde's back he noticed how he looked much thinner then when he'd last seen him. Mage knew that Ari was trying to be more involved with her cousin's life to make up for the years she'd ignored him due to custody battles and family problems.

"You do realize he is going to fight the entire time right," Mage inquired. Ari turned to him with a solemn nod.

"I know, but I still have to try." A determined look was then placed on Ari's face.

The two then turned and made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast still talking along the way.

"I'm still surprised." Mage commented.

"About what?" asked Ari.

"Why you decided to come back to school, I thought you liked interning at the Ministry and receiving private tutoring."

At this Ari looked at the floor with a far away look. "I did, but after what happened last June I had to come back here. I could no longer stay there."

Mage halted their walk outside the doors to the Great Hall. "Why? You never really gave us a reason."

"I knew that if Voldemort was back then uncle Lucius would be pressuring Draco more than he already was to get the Dark Mark and become a Death Eater. Plus after hearing the things I heard at the Ministry I could no longer work there and stay sane." Ari said leaning against the wall beside the doors.

"What kind of things?" Mage asked confused.

"The Minister, I use that title loosely, calling Harry a liar and having the Prophet print dozens of papers and articles bashing Harry. It was disgusting."

Mage nodded in understanding. "It's because of that crap that I stopped reading the paper every morning."

A silence hung over them paying no mind to a group of students that walked past them to enter the Great Hall. Down the corridor Ari spotted Raven looking as pissed as she'd been since June for some reason. She waited till the blonde passed and entered the Hall before turning to Mage again,

"What's been her deal?" Ari asked referring to Raven.

"I don't know. She was perfectly fine and normal last year. She was a little creepy during the Tri-Wizard Tournament though. Mainly it was after Harry appeared out of the maze with Cedric's dead body when she reached her ultimate creepiest." Mage said staring at where Raven had disappeared.

"How so?" Ari asked.

"She got this really creepy smirk on her face and was muttering things under her breath that I couldn't catch. Then after they hauled Harry away somewhere and moved Cedric's body they told us all to return to the castle. On the way there Raven started to laugh for no reason at all and said she couldn't wait for the summer to start." Ari shivered as Mage explained.

Her stomach grumbled loudly making Mage laugh at her, scowling at him she stepped away from him and entered the Great Hall.

Harry rubbed his eyes trying to conceal a yawn as he walked into the Great Hall. Stupid nightmares, he's never going to get proper sleep until he's dead apparently. Looking around he saw that Ron was already at the table shoveling food into his mouth making Harry smile and shake his head; the red head would never change. The raven haired boy seated himself beside his friend greeting him with a yawn. Ron gave a greeting between bites of food; Hermione would've scolded him had she been here. This made Harry look around confused. Where was Hermione? She was usually the first person to breakfast. Right on cue he spotted her bustling towards the table with books in her arms and her book bag hanging off her shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late; I stopped by the library to check out a book for another quick review of my summer homework before breakfast and lost track of time." at this the two boys rolled their eyes at her predictable nerd habits.

After breakfast was over the 3 made their way to their first class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge. As they walked they were stopped in the hall by Malfoy and his goons.

"So Potter, I surprised they let criminals attend Hogwarts." He said snidely.

"Why not I mean you're still here, Malfoy." Harry barked.

Malfoy snarled. He stepped forward and grabbed the front of the raven haired boy's robes.

"Hey back off Draco," a female voice behind him ordered. He turned to see Ari standing there not looking pleased.

Glaring at the ebony haired girl Draco released Harry's robes. He stormed down the corridor towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with his goons close behind. Once he was out of sight the 3 turned to Ari. Next to her was Mage and a less than pleased looking Raven.

"How are you able to do that?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"Let's just say I know him very well," Ari said with a shrug. "So what class do you guys have first?" she changed the subject.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry said reluctantly.

At this Ari's eyes narrowed. "That sucks, Umbridge is a bitch. She has the kind of personality that makes people share their secrets out of anger which she uses against them. Keep your mouths shut and below her radar and you'll be fine. That means you too Harry."

The warning bell tolled loudly overhead. The 6 parted ways and went to class.


	4. Ron's day dreams and looking related

Harry scolded himself as he made his way down the staircases

Harry scolded himself as he made his way down the staircases. He had to leave breakfast to go back up to his dorm to get his summer homework which he had forgotten. As he stormed down the corridors he turned a sharp corner and slammed into a hard body that sent him crashing to the ground sending his books and parchment everywhere. He looked up to see Crabbe and Goyle smirking down at him. He glanced around to see if Malfoy was there but for once he was not.

"Well, well look what we have here, the little Golden Boy that no one believes." Crabbe sneered.

Harry froze as he saw them cracking their knuckles. As they raised their fists Harry raised his hands to cover his head from any blows that would come. After while of nothing happening he slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes to see the two boys staring ahead of him in fear. Looking behind him he saw none other than Professor Snape glaring down at the boys.

"Is there a problem here gentlemen?" he asked in a cool voice.

Crabbe and Goyle shook their heads in fear of the deadly look on his face. "Then run along to class so you are not tardy. I will take house points if you stay." Snape's tone was deadly.

The two boys nodded and sped off down the hall leaving Harry still on the floor with his books and homework all around him. He quickly regained himself and began gathering his things. When he turned to grab the papers behind him he was shocked to see Snape stooped down to gather his papers. The Potions Professor narrowed his eyes at Harry's staring as he finished gathering the rest of the papers. Snape stood up straight while watching Harry stumble to do the same. As Harry began putting his books in his bag Snape curiously looked over the summer Potions homework and was surprised to see that it was accurately done.

"I must admit, I'm quite impressed Mr. Potter." His silky tone caused Harry to jump and stare at him.

"Impressed by what, Sir?" Harry asked confused.

"That you did your summer Potions homework quite well." The compliment made Harry flush slightly.

Snape handed Harry his parchment and gestured him away as a sign to head to class. The boy who lived nodded and made his way quickly past Snape. Heaving a large sigh Severus made his way in the opposite direction of where Harry had gone and towards his dungeons. Peering around the corner a blonde head watched the scene play out; before quickly rushing off to their own lessons.

Ron yawned as he sat in Transfiguration trying to listen to Professor McGonagall explain how to transfigure a book into a live animal. He glanced across the classroom to see Malfoy talking to his goons who looked as white as a pair of bed sheets. He began randomly making designs on a blank piece of parchment. His mind wandered back to the night before and earlier this morning. Mage's face filled his mind and his words rang in his ears. It was like the older boy had known Ron for years even the things that nobody, not even Harry or Hermione, knew. He blushed and shook his head before looking back up at McGonagall. The bell rang echoing throughout the classroom letting them know the current class was over. McGonagall informed them of their homework before letting them leave.

As Ron gathered his stuff he glanced up to see Mage entering the classroom and towards him. The red head blushed and focused on his books like he didn't notice the other boy until he saw a tan hand close of his own equally tan one halting his movements. Ron gasped and looked up with pink cheeks and locked eyes with Mage. The other boy said nothing and leaned forward pressing his lips against Ron's. the red head was shocked at first but wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck.

"Ron wake up." Ron jumped when he felt an elbow in his side.

He opened his eyes and saw Harry and Hermione standing in front of his desk looking concerned. He lifted his head and noticed that the class was practically empty. Shaking his head he realized it was all a dream and stood up gathering his books. After stuffing them in his bag he made his way out of the room not bothering to wait for his friends.

"Ron wait up!" Harry called as he and Hermione rushed to catch up with him

Ron stopped as the caught up and stared at the floor. "Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…" he trailed off trying to find the right word. "had a weird dream."

Before Hermione could inquire further she spotted Ari's rude friend, Raven she thought, storming down the corridor past them. Glancing at her watch she noticed the time; she still had to get to Muggle Studies. She bid goodbye to Harry and Ron before leaving. Harry decided not to ask Ron about his dream and gestured that they head to Potions. Nodding Ron allowed his friend to lead him to the dungeons all the while thinking over his dream.

Harry felt his cheeks grow dark when they entered the dungeons. He was still embarrassed about Professor Snape saving him from a beating this morning. As he and Ron took their seats he saw Ari's friends Mage and a girl with blonde hair enter the dungeons. Ron kept his eyes focused on the table top as the two walked over and seated themselves in front of Harry and Ron. Professor Snape walked into the dungeons just as the bell rang, before the finished its last toll Ari came skidding through the day cheering when the bell stopped. The entire class was deadly silent as Snape sneered at the girl. He cleared his throat to catch Ari's attention.

"Miss Ashmead, I want to speak with you after class." Snape said with a growl.

Ari nodded with a grin and mock saluted him. "Sir yes sir." She said with a giggle before strolling over to sit with Mage and Raven.

The rest of the class was shocked that she had gotten away with that while Snape stood seething. He regained his composure and began barking instructions for a potion at the class. Snape explained that they were going to be making a Draught of Peace potion and they were expected to pair up and do it right or they would have to do it themselves for homework. Ari started to latch onto her friends but Snape ordered her to pair up with Malfoy much to both of their discontent. Harry and Ron quickly gathered their ingredients and tried to do the potion right.

"Also," Snape's voice startled Harry. "After class I want your completed summer homework on my desk."

As Harry chopped up some of the ingredients Ron tried to desperately to decipher the instructions. He jumped when he felt someone place a hand on his. His brown eyes locked with Mage's ocean blue ones; the older boy had a smile on his face hoping to reassure Ron.

"Just calm down Ron," he said softly.

Ron blushed and grasped Mage's hand back.

"Ron!" Harry's voice invaded his ears surprising him.

A sudden burning sensation in his hand made him look down to see it placed against the bottom of cauldron. He tore it away crying out in pain as he held his burned hand to his chest. Mage and Raven turned around at his cry and saw him clutching his hand; Raven sneered while Mage stared concerned. Professor Snape practically glided over to them to check what was wrong.

"Mr. Weasley! Pay attention! Mr. Cross, please take Mr. Weasley to the Hospital Wing." Snape spat at Mage who nodded.

Mage walked away from his table and began guiding Ron out of the dungeons leaving Harry to try to finish the potion alone. As he worked a piece of parchment shaped into butterfly. As he held his hand out for it to crawl upon it unraveled. Scanning the writing he furrowed his eyebrows.

Harry,

Do you need any help with your potion?

Ari

He smiled before scratching back a reply. He watched as it reverted back to a butterfly and glided over to Ari. She read the note before scratching back her own reply. Professor Snape loomed behind Harry as he tried to focus on his potion. As he added the last ingredient he frowned s it turned a deathly grey. He could practically feel Professor Snape sneering at his potion. Glancing out of the corner of his eye he saw the parchment butterfly floating towards him. He heaved a sigh of relief when the professor moved on to another pair. Grabbing the parchment he read it. He smiled before scratching out a reply. As the parchment left his hand he felt Snape breathing over his shoulder.

"Potter, this is all wrong." With a flick of his wand Harry's potion disappeared from the cauldron before he stalked back to the front of the class. "Bottle your potions and put them on my desk after you clean up."

Everyone nodded and did as told while Harry stood glaring at Snape's back. Ari was arguing with Malfoy who looked ready to kill. Gathering his books Harry pulled out his summer homework and walked to the front of the class to place it on Snape's desk. As he headed back to his work area he felt a hand grasp his wrist. Turning he saw the Ari smiling at him.

"Wait for me after class." She whispered so Snape wouldn't hear.

Harry nodded as she released his wrist and headed back to his area to clean up. Gathering his and Ron's books he stuffed them in his bag. Grabbing Ron's bag he saw Mage walking back into the dungeons with Ron at his side. The raven haired boy smiled at his friend who returned it and took the offered bag from him. The loud sound of the school bell tolling echoed throughout the dungeons and students began filing out. Harry paused outside the door to wait for Ari. Ron turned and gave him a confused look.

"Go ahead without me, Ari wanted me to wait for her." Harry explained.

Ron nodded and walked away with Mage close behind and Raven glaring and grumbling at people. After everyone else was gone Harry peeked in to see Ari talking with Snape.

"Why were you late?" Snape asked as he thumbed through the parchment on his desk.

"I stayed behind to talk to Professor Hagrid." Ari said shrugging

"What's going on with the Ministry?" Snape asked examining the flasks on his desk.

Ari peeked over her shoulder as students began filing in before turning back to Snape. "I'll stop by before dinner. We'll talk then." She grabbed her school bag and headed out of the dungeons.

She smiled when she saw Harry waiting for. As they walked away from dungeons Harry glanced over Ari and furrowed his eyebrows. Something about her seemed to resemble Snape in a way. He quickly shook his head free of those thoughts; no way could Ari be related to Snape. They stopped outside Harry's class which made him grumble with distaste; Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge. Ari seemed to notice his disgust of the class and gave him an apologetic smile patting his shoulder.

"Don't worry Harry, even if that grumpy old toad makes this class hell you can always wait a year and get a new Professor next year." She grinned.

Harry smiled and nodded before walking into he class as Ari walked away. Maybe this class wouldn't be so bad.


	5. Eavesdropping is never good

It was worse. Harry groaned as he read the pages in the DADA book. Umbridge was a hag and now thanks to her disbelief of Voldemort's return he had a whole week of detention with her. He glanced around the room and noticed that even Hermione hated having to read instead of being taught defense techniques like they had been in the past. Turning his gaze out the window he sighed in boredom as he stared at the clear blue sky. Finally the bell tolled and students quickly filed from the room. Harry quickly gathered his stuff and sped out of the room before Umbridge could hold him back to 'talk'. Hermione and Ron followed after him so as not to be left behind.

"Harry, I think it may have been a bit inappropriate to confront Umbridge about you-know-who." Hermione told him.

Harry spun around and glared at her. "It wasn't inappropriate. It was the truth which she chose to ignore." Harry barked at her.

"Whoa Harry clam down mate, she's just trying to reason with you." Ron said holding up his hands in defense.

The dark haired boy ignored him and turned to walk away angrily but was grabbed around the wrist and halted. Turning he saw Ari standing there with Mage smiling which quickly changed to a frown when she saw Harry's angry look.

"What'd I miss?" she asked pulling Harry back over to his friends.

Harry crossed his arms and glared at the floor. Hermione awkwardly tugged at her sweater wanting to say something but found to have lost her tongue. Ron straightened up and cleared his throat to talk.

"The new DADA, Umbridge, gave Harry detention for saying that you-know-who was back." Ron explained.

Ari put a hand on her hip as if in thought before quickly realizing. "Listen, Dolores Umbridge is a hard ass bitch who will do anything she can to make people she doesn't like feel beneath her. If you keep your mouth firmly closed and keep under her radar then you can't be victimized by her." Ari explained.

A long silence fell over them. Harry shoved his hands into his pockets turning to leave he stopped when he saw Malfoy and his cronies heading towards them. The platinum blonde stopped in front of the dark haired boy with a smirk. He opened his mouth to say something but his words faltered when Ari stepped forward. He snarled and stomped off. Mage watched with a smirk as his friend's cousin stomped away before letting his eyes rest on Ron. The red head stood staring confused as Malfoy stormed away without a comeback. He lifted his gaze to see Mage staring at him making his cheeks flush in embarrassment. Ari glanced at her wrist watch with a sigh.

"Well, I gotta go. I have Herbology next." She said pulling her bag higher on her shoulder.

She made her away them. Hermione departed to Ancient Runes, Harry and Ron headed to Divination and Mage went towards Astronomy. As Ari walked her attention was diverted to a corner near some lavatories where she could hear hushed voices. Slinking over she peeked around the corner at the location of the voices. Her eyes widened when she saw Raven having what looked like a heated conversation with a couple of 7th year Slytherin boys. She strained to hear what they were saying.

"Listen, we don't care just get it done. You're closest so use that and get back to us." The taller of the two barked at her.

Ari heard Raven hiss in anger. "I will do this at my own pace. Reassure them I will continue to do what I am doing so they need not worry." She saw Raven reach up and grab the boy's collar and pull him down to her level. "So stay out of my face and let me do my job."

The warning bell tolled startling Ari. She decided to abandoned her snooping and rush out of the castle towards the greenhouses.


	6. A very long day

Hermione sat attentively listening to her professor as she scribbled some notes on her parchment. Although it seemed like her mind was focused on her class it was actually wandering to a particular raven haired girl. Ever since their meeting on the train she always plagued Hermione's mind without fail. Whenever she talked to Hermione she flushed darkly. She tried to ignore the thoughts and will them away but to no effect. They stayed firmly in the front of her mind. Lowering her head to the desktop she stared at it sadly. There was no way that Ari would be even the slightest bit interested in her. The bell tolled loudly signaling lunch time; Hermione gathered her books and stuffed them into her bag.

"Hey Hermione!" Hermione was startled by Ari's voice behind her.

She turned to see the other girl smiling at her warmly. She lowered her head with a blush. A wave of depression washed over her. When she turned to walk away her wrist was grasped by Ari preventing her from moving.

"What's wrong Hermione? Are you mad at me?" Ari asked.

Hermione's eyes widened. "No, no of course not." She said hurriedly.

"Then why did you ignore me?" Ari sounded hurt and it pulled at Hermione's heart.

"I…uh…just have a lot on my mind…so I've got to go bye." The brunette rushed off leaving the ravenclaw girl confused.

With a sigh Ari watched her go. As she headed towards the Great Hall she was diverted by a head of platinum blonde hair heading in the opposite direction. It was Draco. He stalked over to a window to stare out angirly. She watched as he slammed his fist against the wall. In his hand was a crumpled up piece of parchment that looked like a letter. Ari cautiously walked over to him.

"Dray, is that from uncle Lucius?" she asked.

She expected him to bark a remark at her but instead he tossed the letter wordlessly at her. She smoothed it out before reading the contents. Gasping she stepped forward and hugged Draco from behind tightly. Uncle Lucius was planning on taking Draco out of school this weekend to have him taken to get the Dark Mark. The blonde's shoulders shook as he tried to maintain himself.

"You really don't want it do you?" Ari asked.

Draco shook his head. The raven haired girl tried to think of a plan but all the roads led to her father. She had nothing against his help but she didn't want him to get in trouble with the Dark Lord if he spoke up on Draco's behalf to avoid getting marked.

"I've got a plan. You might not like it but it's the only way." She said hugging him tighter.

Draco turned his head slightly to hear her idea. Ari released him and grasped his hand before leading him down the corridor unaware that Hermione had seen her hugging Draco and thought the worst. Leading her cousin towards the dungeons she spotted her father at the front of the class looking ready to explode. After securing the door to the classroom they approached him.

"Dad, we have a problem." She told him.

Harry grumbled as he entered the Great Hall. He seated himself beside Hermione who looked downright miserable. He was debating asking her what was wrong but as he was in too much of a bad mood he decided not to bother with it. Looking up at the teachers' table he noted that Snape wasn't there then flushed wondering why he was so interested. He scowled though when he spotted Umbridge sitting smugly talking to McGonagall. Lunch was long and silent for everyone in the Great Hall. Ron showed up near the end of lunch with a slightly pleased look on his face.

"What's got you so happy Ron?" Harry asked.

"Oh nothing I just totally out spelled a Slytherin in my last class." Ron declared proudly.

"Way to go Ron." Hermione said finally smiling.

As Ron boasted on his last class Ari and entered the Great Hall. She'd explained the situation to her father. He'd thought it over and said it would take a few months but he knew a way to spare Draco of the Dark Mark. She'd hoped Draco could be saved. She wanted to do right by him. The past few years she'd been ignoring him and treating him badly due to her own problems. Her mother had sued her father for custody of her. Seeing as her father was unfamiliar with the Muggle justice system it had been a long and painful process. Ari had been shucked from her mother's hellhole of a home to her father's manor making her bitter. But now that her father had sole custody of her she was no longer that way. She knew after reading the papers over the summer about Harry being a liar and Voldemort being back that her uncle would expect Draco to get his Dark Mark. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table she spotted Harry with his friends. The red head she remembered as Ron was talking excitedly while Harry listened and grinned and Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Ya know you can't hide the truth forever Ari." She jumped at the sound of Mage's voice.

"Hide what?" she asked sitting down next to him at the Ravenclaw table.

"That you like Hermione, duh." Mage rolled his eyes.

Ari blushed but quickly retorted. "So, you like Ron!" she muttered with a pout.

Mage glared playfully at her but responded. "So, I at least I can admit it."

They teased each other about their crushes until Raven stalked into the Great Hall with an annoyed look. She sat beside Ari and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and took a loud bite of it.

"Hey Rae, haven't seen you in awhile." Mage greeted.

"Yeah, how've you been?" Ari asked smiling at her second best friend.

"Bite me." Raven said standing up from her seat; she threw her apple to the table and stalked out again.

"What the hell is her problem lately? Ever since summer she's been like this." Mage remarked.

Ari's thoughts wandered back to what she'd seen in the hall earlier. She shook it away as the bell tolled signaling the end of lunch. Mage and she had their last class together so it wouldn't be boring. She moved to pick up her bag but noticed it was gone.

"Damn it." She cursed.

"What's wrong?" Mage asked.

"I left my bag in dad's class." Ari said as they shoved through crowds of people.

"You want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No, I'll meet you there." She waved before heading down the corridor.

She jogged down the corridor but decided to slow to a walk. She spotted Pansy and Draco's two goons sneering at her. Sending a nasty look at them averted their gazes. As she got closer to the dungeons she saw Draco exiting them. She stopped and grabbed him by his arm pulling him out of sight.

"So how did it go?" she asked. She'd left for lunch when her father wanted to talk to Draco alone.

The blonde stared at his feet before looking back up at her. She could see that he was hesitant both from Malfoy pride and the fact that she'd never been there for him before. He took a deep breath before talking.

"He wants me to keep out of contact with my father; wants me to avoid talking to other Slytherins in private places. Which will be hard." He explained.

Ari stood pondering trying to think of some place he could go. "I'll try to help in anyway possible. I'm gonna see if I can find a place for you to stay. See you at dinner. I have to get my bag."

She hugged him tightly before watching him walk off. When she turned to walk into the dungeons she crashed into two shoulders sending her flying backwards. Two hands grabbed her waist suspending her in the air. She opened her eyes which she didn't realize were shut and saw two twin faces smiling at her.

"You okay?" one asked.

"Yeah you hit pretty hard." The other said.

They stood Ari on her feet. "I'm fine, thanks for catching me. You guys have good reflexes."

"Well we should we are on the quidditch team." The first one grinned.

Ari smiled at them and held out her hands. "I'm Ari. Ari Ashmead." The last part she said reluctantly.

The boys grinned and each shook one of her hands. "I'm Fred Weasley." The first one said.

"And I'm George Weasley." The second one introduced.

"So you're infamous Weasley twins I've heard about." Ari said looking them over.

The boys nodded as they opened their mouths to boast the warning bell rang startling them Ari apologized and bid them goodbye before rushing into her father's classroom. He looked up at her with a glare that said 'get to class before I kill you for being tardy' she shrugged it off and grabbed her bag before rushing out of the room.


	7. Ploting between friends and questions

*Hey I'm back and sooo sorry i haven't updated this story in forever! I promise you can expect a lot of updates this summer! Scouts Honor*

When the last bell tolled Ari cried out thankfully before fleeing the classroom leaving her bag and books behind. People stared after her in wonder before filing out. Mage sighed at his best friend's over eagerness before gathering her books and parchment. Shoving them into her bag he swung it over his shoulder with his own and headed out of the classroom. He figured he could head up to the ravenclaw common room to drop of their bags before heading off to dinner. He entered the common room and deposited the bags on a chair turning again to leave for dinner. He paused when he saw Raven enter the common room. She actually looked happy.

"Oh hey Mage, what are you doing here?" she asked sounding perky.

"Uh…hey Rae, I just came to drop of my bag and Ari's. She kinda ran out of class for dinner leaving it behind." Mage said in disbelief of her attitude.

She laughed softly. "Well that's Ari, scatterbrained with a one-track mind."

"You're unusually happy right now Rae, considering your attitude during lunch." Mage said hoping he wasn't poking the bear to make her angry again.

"Oh that, yeah I wasn't very happy at lunch cause of…let's say stupid people. But now everything's working in my favor. You better head to dinner before Ari eats all the food." Raven said shooing him.

"You're not gonna eat?" he asked.

"I'm not very hungry besides I have some important stuff to do." Raven said heading towards the girls' dorm.

As Mage stopped outside the entrance to the common room he pondered something before quickly asking the question on his mind. "Hey Rae, what things are working in your favor exactly?"

Raven stopped at the head of the stairs with her back still turned and a strange smile on her face. "Oh you'll see, it's just this thing I do. Trust me you'll find out soon." With that she entered the dorms.

Mage shivered at the way she'd said that. Exiting the common room he headed down the corridor. Raven sure as acting weird this year. Last year she'd been like Ari; perky, good natured and full compassion. But up until the summer she'd changed. He still remembered the Tri-Wizard Tournament when Harry came out of the maze sobbing with Cedric Diggory's dead body beneath him. He felt so bad for the other boy. When he'd heard mention of Voldemort being back he'd left to owl Ari at the Ministry. Ari had kept her ears open at the ministry and had told Mage how disgusted she was that everyone there thought Harry was lying. It was one of many reasons why she'd returned to school that and to help her cousin. He stopped walking when he saw a familiar head of red hair leaning against the wall outside the Great Hall. He smiled and headed towards Ron.

"Hey Ron," he called.

Ron looked up surprised but smiled at him. "Oh hi Mage…what are you doing here?"

Mage laughed. "Obviously I came for some dinner. Are you waiting for someone?"

A light blush dusted Ron's cheeks at the question. He looked as if he'd been embarrassed to have been asked that. "Well…actually…Ari told me to wait for you."

"She did?" it quickly dawned on Mage why Ari told Ron to wait for him.

"Did you not want me to wait for you?" Ron asked sounding worried.

"Oh no, it's not that…I just remembered I have to kill Ari later." Mage said smiling. He placed a hand on the red head's shoulder.

Ron stared at him confused but he just smiled as they walked into the Great Hall. Ron bid goodbye to Mage before heading over to his own table. A warm fluttery feeling rested in his chest as he sat next to Harry. He grabbed some food slowly eating it as he thought of his encounter in the corridor and wondered why Ari had told him to wait for Mage. Ari received a firm whack on the back of the head as the brown haired boy walked boy.

"What the hell?" she asked angrily.

"You play dirty." Mage told her simply as he spooned some pasta onto his plate.

Ari smirked when she realized what he meant. "Oh come one, you said it yourself that you like him so I figured you'd want him to wait for you to come to dinner. He must like you back or else he wouldn't have waited for you."

"Well if that's the way you want to play it then I guess I'll have to find a way to get back at you." Mage said sipping some pumpkin juice.

"Yeah like you could get revenge on me." Ari scoffed playfully.

Mage rolled his eyes and kept eating his dinner. Hermione glanced over at the Ravenclaw table at Ari. The other girl was elbowing her friend Mage and looked both annoyed and teasing. Her mood dampened when Malfoy walked into the Great Hall making her remember what she'd seen in the corridor. She watched as Ari turned to get Malfoy's attention. He walked over to her leaning down to listen to what she had to say. He frowned but nodded. Hermione watched as Ari smiled and patted his cheek. She pulled him down into a hug which he shoved out of embarrassed and stalked off to the Slytherin table. Ari just grinned but frowned when she saw him getting glares and weird looks from his fellow Slytherins but thankfully he snarled at them making them look away. Ari spotted Hermione staring at her and smiled waving at her. The brunette flushed waving back before turning back to her food.

Once dinner was over and students stood to head off to bed Ari caught Hermione in the corridor. Trying to think of a way to escape they were squashed as Ari held her wrist gently making her turn pink. The Ravenclaw girl fell into step with her as they exited the Great Hall.

"Hey Hermione, would you like to study with me in the library this weekend? I mean if you want to." Ari asked.

Hermione blushed at the question. "Sure, I'd love to." Ari smiled at this.

They went their separate ways; Hermione to the Gryffindor common room while Ari headed down to the dungeons to see her father. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Turning around she bit back a snarl when she saw Dolores Umbridge standing there looking disapproving.

"Where do you think you're going Miss Ashmead?" she asked.

"To speak with Professor Snape, Dolores." Ari answered coolly.

"At Hogwarts you are to call me Professor Umbridge. Why do you need to speak with Professor Snape?" her nosiness annoyed Ari.

"That is my own business Professor." she responded.

Umbridge looked displeased. She opened her mouth to speak but Ari spotted her father exiting the Great Hall. He did not look pleased seeing her in the hands of Umbridge.

"What is the problem here?" he asked.

Umbridge turned and faked a sweet smile. "Professor Snape, so good to see you." Ari looked like she was going to vomit at her tone. "This student here said she was going to meet with you, is that true?"

"Why yes it is, Miss Ashmead made mention to me earlier that she had some questions on some Potions homework I assigned." Snape said coolly.

He walked over and roughly grabbed his daughter's arm and dragged her away while she shot Umbridge a mocking look over her shoulder.

Harry stared out at the stars as he sat on the windowsill. It was a beautiful sight. He looked down at the courtyard where the moon's brightness reflected on the ground. Green eyes held a look of daze as he continued to star deep in thought. The new girl, Ari, something about her was off. Hedwig was perched by his window hooting softly in concern. He knew she in her own way was telling him to sleep. Harry stared at his bed and the other boys sleeping in the dorm. He knew if he slept he would dream about Voldemort again. With a sigh Harry opened the window and shooed Hedwig up to the Owlery. After affectionately nipping his ear Hedwig flew out. Watching the snowy owl disappear from sight Harry climbed into bed and curled under the covers. As he drifted off to sleep questions still swirled in his brain.


End file.
